Kevin Ellison was known for hard hits while playing for USC and the Chargers. Did that lead to increasingly bizarre behavior before his death?
At the memorial service, the Ellison family distributed bracelets inscribed with the dates of his birth and death as well as his nickname — Kells. Near flower arrangements with “Be the best” and “Loved by all” written on ribbons, Camille Ellison described her brother’s journey through the fog of mental illness.
Brains fixed in formalin have a rubbery texture; fresh brains arrive packed in ice and feel like ripe brie. The fresh brains are halved. Part is stored in a minus-80 degree freezer for later genetic and molecular studies. The other is placed in preservative for several weeks to firm up and stop decay.
The brain is sectioned with a tool resembling a bread knife but with a nonserrated edge. Alvarez is known among colleagues for precise cuts, with a practiced and methodical technique. He begins with his left hand gently pressing on the top of the brain while his right hand slides the knife horizontally near the bottom. The goal is coronal slices about a third of an inch thick.
In late August, Kevin Ellison’s slides traveled to the 12th floor at the Jamaica Plain facility, down a white cinder-block hallway and into Dr. Ann McKee’s cramped office, where a wilted plant sits next to a large microscope. McKee is chief of neuropathology for the VA Boston Healthcare System and director of the Boston University CTE Center.
A study published last year found CTE in the brains of 133 of 136 former pro football players, though the sample was drawn from donations — and families are more likely to donate the brains of loved ones who had experienced difficulties in life. ‘Who will carry this torch? Who will make the difference for these families if they don’t have a spokesperson.’While neuropathologists peered into Ellison’s brain, clinical researchers dug into his life. On Sept. 17, research assistant Madeline Uretsky called the family with a series of questions.
Twice a month, the Boston researchers hold a “consensus meeting” to discuss their findings, and on Sept. 24 they took up Ellison. Each case begins with a research assistant summarizing the family interview and other information gathered about a subject. The clinicians, including neurologists, neuropsychologists and psychiatrists, discuss the subject. The neuropathologist is last, illustrating the presentation with slides of brain tissue.
The interplay between CTE and Ellison’s mental health issues wasn’t clear. CTE can be mistaken for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia — Ellison experienced both — or be found at the same time as both conditions. McKee found “mild neurofibrillary degeneration” of the locus coeruleus, which is involved with the body’s response to stress.
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